Ten years ago, Qi State, winter.

This year, I began to climb up from the darkest abyss.

The servant said that Uncle Thirteen woke up, and I put down the jade flute that I had been fiddling with, and hurried to Uncle Thirteen's yard.

As soon as I entered the bedroom, I saw the thirteenth uncle in green clothes leaning against the head of the bed, his face was so pale that it almost melted into the white hazy sky outside the window, and his thin body was covered by a thin quilt.

Uncle Thirteen has been suffering from illness since he fell into the water when he was a child, and his condition has been particularly serious in the past few days.

I woke up from my dreams several times, and when I woke up, I rushed to the thirteenth uncle's room to stay, sometimes he would wake up and teach me to play the piano, sometimes he was sick and couldn't open his eyes, but when I looked at his heaving chest, my heart would settle down.

No one knows how scared I am that Uncle Thirteen will leave me, not even Uncle Thirteen.

When Uncle Thirteen saw me coming, he raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly, and ordered someone to serve me hot tea.

"You stick to me like this, what will you do if I leave in the future?" Uncle Thirteen asked me half jokingly and half seriously.

I silently clenched the teacup in my hand, my eyes were clearly panicked, but the words I said were very calm: "You won't leave." ”

Uncle Thirteen laughed when he heard this, and he said, "Xiaocheng, play a tune for me." ”

I answered, and got up to go back to the house to pick up my piano.

"Where are you going?"

"Go get the piano."

The thirteenth uncle pointed to the guqin on the piano case and said, "Just use it, is it okay?" ”

"But...... "I hesitated, "it's the thing you love the most, I... I'm afraid I'll break it. ”

"It's just a piano, and you're qualified to play it now." Uncle Thirteen smiled and said, "From now on, it is yours." ”

I was stunned for a moment, and then the chill in my heart spread little by little. Before I could feel great joy for Uncle Thirteen to give me this peerless famous piano, the sadness and pain took the first step to occupy my entire heart.

"Uncle Thirteen, you ......"

Uncle Thirteen raised his hand to stop me, his expression became very serious, and even the words he said brought a bit of unquestionable majesty.

"Bullet".

I subconsciously took a step back and sat down in silence behind the case.

When my fingertips touched the strings, my heart calmed down a lot, but the more I was about to calm down, countless things flashed in my mind, including about the family, about fate, and most importantly, about Uncle Thirteen's illness.

I knew that I couldn't make a mistake, but when I finished playing the last rhyme, I still felt the disappointment of Uncle Thirteen.

I took my hand, and I sat behind the piano case and didn't dare to move.

"Xiaocheng, what do you think 'beauty' is?" After being quiet for a long time, Uncle Thirteen opened his mouth.

I bowed my head and replied, "The posture is like the moon, and the face is like a woman." ”

"What is 'beauty' for men?"

I paused, and my hands involuntarily clenched into fists. I turned my head away and said in disgust, "Burdensome, disgustingly burdensome." ”

Hearing my answer, Uncle Thirteen let out a long sigh.

"Since I was a child, this has always been a knot in your heart."

I tried my best to restrain my emotions from being poked in the sore spot, and the resentment that had been building up in my heart for many years was about to explode, but the words I spoke still carried obvious disgust and anger.

"Isn't it because of this, Uncle Thirteen, that you resigned from your official position in anger and swore never to be an official? If it weren't for the dirty thoughts of the world, you wouldn't be living in this remote and desolate courtyard today because you have no value! The position of prime minister above 10,000 people under one person should be yours, and what your grandfather should look at is also your eyes. ”

Uncle Thirteen listened quietly to my questioning, he didn't immediately refute my words, nor did he feel embarrassed or angry at my words, he just looked at the falling snowflakes outside the window.

I can't see the look in Uncle Thirteen's eyes clearly, and I can't understand it, just like snowflakes are falling, but it can't understand the sorrow of the world.

"Do you want to be a luthier, play flowers in spring, play snow in winter, and be free for a lifetime?" Uncle Thirteen suddenly turned his head and asked me.

I stared at the peerless lyre that was silent in front of me, and for a long time I said, "I think." ”

Uncle Thirteen was silent, he closed his eyes tiredly, and waved his hand to let me go.

I didn't dare to disturb Uncle Thirteen's rest, so I bowed to Uncle Thirteen, and then withdrew.

This retreat, when goodbye is already a thing or a person.

A night of lightning and thunder, a summer night, a summer night of torrential rain.

A man soaking wet pushed open my door, and I was awakened, and I could barely see by the faint light of the candle.

"Uncle Thirteen?"

"Shh Uncle Thirteen motioned for me to be silent, he approached me, and took me into his arms with one hand, "Xiaocheng, no matter what happens tonight, you must remember what I said to you before, and don't deliberately forget it." ”

I'm sleeping in a daze. I didn't know what was going on, and when I was worried that Uncle Thirteen would not be able to bear my weight and wanted to struggle down, the back of my hand suddenly touched the cold and piercing hilt of Uncle Thirteen's other hand.

"Uncle ......"

Uncle Thirteen didn't speak, he took a thin quilt and put it on me, kicked it open and rushed into the heavy rain.

Uncle Thirteen ran all the way with me in his arms, his expression grim, as if he was worried about someone who would catch up.

The rain was pouring down on my eyes, and I wiped my eyes.

"Thirteen, where do you want to take my son?"

Kicking open the last door, a dark figure outside the door blocked the door, a lightning bolt pierced the night, and the cold light of countless swords suddenly flashed in the rain curtain.

"Play." Uncle Thirteen replied lightly.

"Nonsense!"

The man who spoke approached, and I finally saw the face of the person who came.

"Mother?" I was stunned.

When Cui Xiu heard my exclamation, she first stiffened her body, but soon she returned to her original state.

She didn't look at me at all, since she was a kid.

"He is the person His Majesty wants, you can't take it away."

Uncle Thirteen sneered, "Have you ever thought that he is your own flesh and blood who was pregnant for ten months?" ”

Cui Xiu's face was expressionless, as if he had never had my son, "The emperor's destiny is greater than the sky, he is the son of our Gongqin Mansion, and the ten years of proton in the palace is his fate that he can't escape." ”

"Proton?" Uncle Thirteen's eyes were full of anger, "Xiaocheng is only five years old, what reward did Emperor Qi promise you, you want to give Xiaocheng to Emperor Qi for fun?" ”

"That's what my father-in-law meant." Cui Xiu knew that he was at a loss, and when he moved out of the country, his grandfather said, "Gonggong, you taught him those useless things, in order to add another tile to the Guogong Mansion, you know." ”

I clung to the wet blanket on my body, my whole body trembled uncontrollably, I wanted to breathe heavily to relieve the suffocation in my chest now, but a despair that wanted to consume me came to me with a force that I could not resist, and I could only stare at the person I called "Mother" with wide eyes, and there was nothing to say.

If I had a choice in this moment, I would choose to die.

I have always been cautious, I have always tried my best to please, it turns out that no matter what I do, I am just a plaything, a plaything for the king to play, for the glory and wealth of the state.

A pathetic joke.

"It is simply impossible for the long-term government to achieve it in this way." Uncle Thirteen frowned tightly, "I have already persuaded my father, but you are all too greedy. ”

Cui Xiu didn't want to listen to Uncle Thirteen's nonsense, she drank and asked, "People, do you give or don't give?" ”

I grabbed Uncle Thirteen's front at once, and Uncle Thirteen felt my fear, and he lowered his head to look at me, his clear and wise eyes faintly flashing with promise.

Uncle Thirteen didn't speak again, he raised his sword, and before I could be afraid, dozens of people had already fallen in a pool of blood, and the stagnant water on the ground spread out the blood, and it didn't take long to gather into a large patch.

When the thirteenth uncle stopped his sword, there were already corpses all over the ground in front of the back door of the Guogong Mansion, only Cui Xiu stood alone in the middle of the scattered corpses, the rain washed away her delicate makeup, and the night was blurry.

"I don't want to fight, but it's foolish for you to forget what I did." Uncle Thirteen looked at the embarrassed Cui Xiu coldly, and there was a different kind of look on his face, which had always been pale and thin, a kind of majesty that I had never seen before, and the real Uncle Thirteen had.

Cui Xiu looked at such a thirteenth uncle, and the fear that had been buried by her was dug out nakedly, she pointed at the thirteenth uncle with one hand and shouted hoarsely, "Father-in-law is right, I know that you have always coveted the position of the prince of the country, and you have always wanted to replace the father-in-law and replace the position of my husband!"

There was a neighing of horses' hooves, and a carriage suddenly broke into the night, and the carriage stopped in front of us, and Uncle Thirteen didn't look at Cui Xiu as if he was going crazy, and carried me into the carriage in a few steps.

"The scenery of Qishan has always been very good, you can stay there for a few more years." Uncle Thirteen touched my head and looked at me lovingly.

I grabbed his hand, there was so much going on tonight that I couldn't say anything now but tremble.

But I believe that Uncle Thirteen can understand what I mean.

"There are many joys and sorrows in life...... Speaking of this, Uncle Thirteen pulled my hand away, and he looked at me with a gentle smile, "Xiaocheng, I wanted to give you all my things when you were older, but they couldn't tolerate me or you anyway." Men should be self-reliant and self-reliant, and in the future, without me by your side, you must also restrain yourself, and don't waste your extraordinary talent. ”

"No......" I opened my eyes wide, my throat was hoarse and uncomfortable, I wanted to reach out and hold Uncle Thirteen, but Uncle Thirteen refused to turn back.

The carriage ran at a high speed, I was thrown backwards by the strength of the carriage, the pain spread from the back to the brain, I got up and rushed to the door, the curtain opened and closed, I saw Uncle Thirteen raise his sword and slash in the air, and suddenly a bead of blood splashed, and the misty intertwined into the most vivid memory.